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Sunday, May 8, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of attending a luncheon at Counter, a vegetarian bistro/organic wine bar that was sponsored by organic dairy pioneer, Stonyfield Farms. The event, hosted by Robyn O'Brien, founder of Allergy Kids, highlighted numerous horrifying facts about our food production system such as how there are chemicals and hormones placed into our food that have been shown to attribute to a host of problems such as allergies, ADHD, autism, and asthma. As consumers, the only thing we can do is to become informed, purchase organic food products (as much as possible) and to incorporate organic eating into our homes. O'Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, suggested some simple and realistic tips like buying in bulk, starting small, and going meatless on Monday's. She also offered a refreshing takeaway tip when embarking on a new eating plan: "It's not about perfection, but progress."

Being sponsored by Stonyfield Farm, we were also given the opportunity to try the brands creamy Oikos Greek yogurt as well as receive a sample of the Stonyfield Yogurt Cookbook featuring delicious soup recipes like Arabic Cold Yogurt Soup, Minted Strawberry Chilled Soup, Salmon Chowder, a Blueberry Bisque and a recipe that I am intrigued to try: a White Summer Gazpacho.

As O'Brien ended her session she stated, "eating organic doesn't happen overnight but making small changes every day will impact your health, and in turn change the overall way our food is produced." With that I hope you enjoy this delicious White Summer Gazpacho by Stonyfield.

Directions:Peel and seed 8 of the 9 cucumbers; cut them in large chunks. Puree the cucumber chunks in a food processor or blender, and place the puree in a large bowl. Core and seed the peppers and seed the zucchini; cut them all into small dice. Add the vegetables to the cucumber puree. Peel and seed the remaining cucumber and cut it into 1/4-inch slices. Add to the mixture.

Mix the yogurt with the white wine and stir into the vegetables mixture. Season with Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Chill several hours or overnight.

Ladle the chilled gazapacho into soup bowls. Garnish each with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and chives.

Enjoy!Seriously Soupy Serena

I received a gift bag and a complimentary luncheon for attending this event.